The invention disclosed herein relates generally to easy opening cartons and to easy opening, reclosable cartons, and more particularly to easy opening, paperboard folding cartons which may be reclosed after opening, and to blanks from which such cartons are made.
A desirable feature for cartons in general is the capability of opening the cartons easily. Because cartons usually have to function as packaging to maintain product integrity during shipping, handling and sale, it has been difficult to make easy opening cartons which are not substantially weakened by the introduction of the structure which makes the cartons easy to open, or, on the other hand, to make easy opening cartons which are substantially unweakened and are still easy to open.
Another desirable feature for many cartons, particularly those which contain products in multiple use or multiple serving quantities, is the capability of reclosing the cartons after opening so as to protect the product remaining in the cartons from spillage or contamination, or to maintain product freshness. Many cartons today incorporate structure providing both the easy opening and reclosable features. In such cartons, the difficulty associated with making a strong easy opening carton is compounded by the need to incorporate the structure which provides the reclosable feature. Therefore, many cartons, particularly cartons used for dry pourable products such as rice, soap powders, cereals and other products, which incorporate both features are not entirely satisfactory as to strength, easy opening and/or reclosing, or incorporate both features with complicated and/or expensive blanks and carton erection processes.
One carton system in wide use today for rice and soap powders, for example, includes full width major top end panels or flaps which are fully glued to each other, and structure in one of the minor side panels near the carton top which is intended to be penetrated or torn to provide a reclosable opening. In that type of system, perforations extending in the shape of a U or V are provided on the minor side panel immediately below the top of the carton. To open the carton, a force is applied to sever the portion of the minor side panel defined by the perforations, and the severed portion is pulled back over the carton top. Since a weakened region defined by the perforations exists on an exterior surface of the carton, the weakened region must be made strong enough to resist tearing during shipping and handling, and consequently, cartons including such perforations are still relatively strong and difficult to open. Another disadvantage in this type of carton system where the pouring opening is formed in the carton side, is that the pouring opening is not usually visible during pouring, resulting in so-called "blind pouring".
In another carton system in wide use today for pourable products such as dishwasher soap powders, for example, the carton includes a pull-down metal pouring spout in a minor side panel of the carton adjacent the top end thereof. The carton, including the spout, is covered by a full overwrap, or the spout is covered and maintained closed during shipping, handling and sale by a pressure sensitive tape. To open such cartons, the overwrap covering the spout is torn or the tape covering the spout is removed, and the spout is pulled down. To reclose the carton, the spout is pushed back against the carton. This type of carton system is more costly not only because of the cost of the spout and overwrap or tape, but also because production line speeds are relatively low due to the need to incorporate the spout into the carton and overwrap the carton or apply the pressure sensitive tape.
In still another reclosable carton system in wide use today for dry cereals, for example, the carton includes top major end panels or flaps which are not as wide as the width of the carton and which overlap for only a portion of their respective widths. There are no weakened regions in the exterior of the carton and the top major end panels are spot glued to each other so that they may be easily separated to provide the easy opening feature. The major panels in this type of carton may include structure which interlocks them together after the initial opening of the carton to thereby provide the reclosable feature.
Cartons which incorporate an easy opening feature and/or a reclosable feature are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,553,752 (Cooper); 3,181,767 (Starkey); 3,262,630 (Koolnis); 3,270,941 (Barnes); 3,395,848 (Johnson); 3,426,955 (Olsen); 3,606,133 (Meyers); 3,897,900 (Gorski et al.); 4,019,673 (Salomons); 4,122,948 (Griev et al.): 4,142,635 (Capo et al.); 4,168,003 (Wysocki); 4,421,236 (Lowe); and 4,548,318 (Boyle).
The inventive carton disclosed herein includes structure defining an easy opening feature, and yet the carton is relatively strong prior to the initial opening to maintain product integrity during shipping, handling and sale, and also may include structure for reclosing the carton to maintain product freshness and/or prevent product contamination or spillage after the initial opening.